As educators and life-long students, we at Jones Diversity recognize how important it is for educational institutions to address issues of diversity and inclusion. We believe that diversity and inclusion not only expands and enhances learning, but is essential to fostering a rich educational environment. Whether you are private, public, or serve five-year olds, teenagers, college students, or graduate students, you have specific diversity and inclusion objectives that we understand. We apply our expertise to customize services that serve all educational stakeholders, including administrators, educators, staff, students, families, and communities.
Consulting Services to Educational Institution Boards and Administrative Teams
Jones Diversity provides advisory services to boards and administrative teams by consulting on all aspects of diversity and inclusion, including issues of race/ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and age. We specifically address best practices with respect to retention, mentoring, recruitment, and creating a pipeline of diverse staff and students.
Diversity and Inclusion Assessment and Recommendations
The assessment process is an essential step in understanding your institution’s culture as it relates to diversity and inclusion. It can be done through a variety of means and is usually achieved using a combination of an electronic survey, focus groups, and individual interviews with key members of your institution, including but not limited to administrators, educators, students, parents, and other key stakeholders. We conduct the assessment to gather data regarding diversity and inclusion within the workplace and learning environments. This data forms the basis of recommendations which serve as the foundation for future action.
Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan Design
Using information from internal and external assessments, we work with our clients to create multi-year strategic plans designed to improve diversity and inclusion practices and performance.
Executive Coaching
As part of our services, we provide one-on-one coaching to board members and senior administrators interested in increasing their multi-cultural competencies and implementing particular aspects of the organization’s diversity and inclusion strategic plan.
Cultural Coaching Services
Sometimes diversity and inclusion issues are best addressed either individually or for a defined group. These services include:
- Individual Cultural Coaching
- Group Cultural Coaching
These services are designed for a particular employee or group of employees who might benefit from some individualized coaching.
Diversity Workshops
Jones Diversity conducts small interactive workshops designed to increase awareness about diversity and inclusion and educate individuals and organizations about how to communicate across lines of difference. These workshops are useful in building more inclusive cultures for both educators, students, and other key stakeholders.
Diversity Talent Acquisition Initiative
The Diverse Talent Acquisition Initiative is about reaching beyond advertising in online career portals, engaging search firms, recruiting at on campus job fairs, and sponsoring events. It is about identifying and leveraging diverse networks to recruit a targeted pipeline of candidates. The Diverse Talent Acquisition Initiative enables educational institutions to provide leadership opportunities for existing women, minority, and other diverse employees, expand the recruitment networks of their human resource team, and identify a diverse and inclusive talent pool of experienced educational professionals for current and/or future staffing needs.
Affinity Group Development
Affinity group development is often a highly effective inclusion strategy which creates a feeling of critical mass among diverse groups who are small in number. We work with our clients to establish, activate, and/or restructure affinity group programs to meet client needs.
Mentoring Program Design
Creating a mentoring culture can be a useful way to increase retention and develop a pipeline of both diverse educators and students. Jones Diversity designs formal mentoring programs customized to client needs and provides training to both mentors and mentees.
Cross-Cultural Competencies Workshop for Mentors and Mentees
To ensure that the mentoring program is successful, this workshop is designed to coach those employees who will be participating in the mentoring program. This training focuses on developing cross-cultural competencies as well as how to have a successful mentoring relationship.
Supplier / Vendor Diversity Initiative
Supplier/Vendor Diversity is about more than just from whom you purchase. It is about using the purchasing power of your institution to support your diversity initiative mission. The Supplier/Vendor Diversity Initiative is a strategy that enables educational institutions to deepen relationships with existing suppliers and build a strong pipeline of diverse suppliers while promoting inclusion and sustainability.